Prince George and Princess Charlotte will be separated by heartbreaking royal rule in under a year
There is a Royal rule which could see Prince George and his sister Princess Charlotte be separated once he turns 12 – but it turns out there’s a very good reason for it. After the age of 12, Prince George will no longer be able to travel with his father or sister.
The rule is there to ensure the monarchy isn’t endangered in cases of accidents and keep the line of succession safe. It was something Prince William also had to endure when he turned 12 too. Prince William is next in line to the throne should anything happen to King Charles, while George is third in line and Charlotte is fourth, so if there was to be a terrible disaster, on an aircraft for instance, it could threaten the immediate line of succession were they were all on board together. So, the rule forbids them all from travelling as a group.
The unusual rule was revealed ahead of Prince George’s 11th birthday on 22 July by King Charles’s former pilot, Graham Laurie. He told OK!: "We flew all four: the Prince [Charles], the Princess [Diana], Prince William and Prince Harry, up until Prince William was 12 years old.
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"After that, he had to have a separate aircraft and we could only fly all four together when they were young with the written permission of Her Majesty. When William became 12, he would fly normally in a 125 from Northolt and we would fly the 146 out with the other three on.”
If the family wanted to travel together now as a group, they may have to seek similar permission from Charles as the current monarch. If the royal rule is to be applied to William’s family, it means that at merely 12 years old, George will have to travel separately to his family for the rest of his life.
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Although plane crashes are rare these days, three members of the Royal family have tragically lost their lives in air accidents in the past. Prince Philip's sister, Princess Cecile, died in a crash in 1937, the late Queen's uncle, Prince George, Duke of Kent, died in 1942, and her cousin, Prince William of Gloucester, died while participating in an air show in 1972.
Prince William, Princess Charlotte and Prince George were seen a few months ago at the Taylor Swift concert taking a selfie backstage with the pop star. The father and son duo have also been spotted hanging out, William and George were at the UEFA England match in Berlin in July.